


Seabound Reunion

by vividColors



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night - All Media Types, Fate/strange fake
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Alternate a lot of stuff, Fifth Holy Grail War, No beta we die like Lancers, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:42:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22180483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vividColors/pseuds/vividColors
Summary: Many have sought after the Holy Grail for various reasons; be it for religious reasons, rumors of its wish-granting potential, or to meet their own ends. But, in the age of exploration, seafaring mages aim to prove themselves by locating the grail amidst the endless sea.Basically a rewrite of F/SN UBW but more water and Gilkidu! Rapidly approaching Kidu being reunited w/ Gil.
Relationships: (maybe? idk haven't decided yet), Emiya Shirou/Tohsaka Rin, Enkidu | False Lancer/Gilgamesh | Archer, Enkidu/Gilgamesh (Fate)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 71





	1. Bound Bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recently got into F/GO after catching up with Zero, Stay Night, and Strange Fake and was really inspired by the 3rd singularity Okeanos to write this. First chapter is a lot of Shirou and Rin, but Enkidu'll show up soon. Kinda just frantically wrote down a cool dream I had in like a day, hope it doesn't show too much.

Shirou Emiya had long since given up on thinking of what his father would do in his situation; his father wouldn’t have even been in this mess to begin with. Looking back, it might’ve been a bit foolish of him as a far less experienced sailor and mage to have left his quiet port town in favor of an adventure on the high seas. Even if he’d be unintentionally roped into it, he’d been given plenty of outs. Now, he’s lost at sea with the most stubborn girl he knows, Rin Tohsaka, in a partially demolished ship still afloat thanks to his- horrendously untrained and unpolished, as she put it- magecraft.

Said girl, is currently ignoring him in favor of mumbling to herself while gazing over the only map they have left; a half drawn mess left by her father that she was determined would lead them the right way.

“Hey, Tohsaka?” He knows she’s in the same room as him, but he can’t turn around to face her without losing focus on his projection. It’s a good thing Archer unlocked his magic circuits before he left or they’d be bobbing in waves right now.

He lets out a sigh after some time passes without any acknowledgment and asks again, “Tohsaka?”

“Agh! What is it, Shirou!” She yells, slamming a hand against the table and using the other to gesture at the map said he could see it, “Can’t you see I’m busy!?”

No, he can’t. “I think it’s time to admit that we’re lost and go back. At least just to repair the ship and resupply, don’t you think?” Silence follows his question forcing him to turn his neck uncomfortable around to try and catch a glimpse of her.

Her eyes are downcast with her black bangs draped over, her whole form is trembling with rage over their current situation and (mostly likely) Shirou’s request. “...No.”

Her response is soft, but undeniable; she won’t change her mind anytime soon. Despite this, he still feels the need to protest, “Toh-“

“We didn’t come this far just to head back!” Her hair moves in sharp swings, preceding her rapid march to stand over him. “If we go back now someone else will get there before us. Along with that, Saber’s still missing after Caster’s storm blew the ship apart. Are you planning on abandoning her?”

“No, of course not!” His response is immediate. Honestly, how could she even think that? He’d made Saber a promise, that he wouldn’t treat her as a familiar- but, as an equal- on sea or land.

“She memorized the map, she could already be at the island waiting for us. And even if she wasn’t, the island is the closest landmass for us to fix the ship and find her.”

“That’s true, but...” This could be the final island, their final destination, that would hold the holy grail of treasure. Heck, probably the actual holy grail itself. What _was_ he so afraid of? They’d come this far, right?

“No. You’re right, I don’t like it, but you’re right.”

Her anger melts away as she preens at his submission with a smug smile, “Hmph, as always.” It melts into a smaller reassuring one as she continues; unknowingly echoing his own thoughts. “We’ve come this far with my brilliant tactics, right?”

There’s a moment of silence between the two of them, until their brought back to the reality of their situation; such being stranded out in the middle of the ocean with a half drawn map, no servants, and a damaged ship.

Shirou breaks the silent first asking the obvious question. “So, how are we getting to the island?”

“Well...” Her body shifts into a pensive pose; one arm raised in a loose fist pressed against her cheek, while the other supports it at the elbow.

“I think it’s about time I use my trump card.” The change is palpable; the furrow in her brow fades as a sinister smile stretches across her face. He can’t help, but worry about what this could be. She moves out of his view but is still very clearly addressing him, “It’s been a secret in Tohsaka family for generations, so you should consider yourself pretty lucky to even get a chance to look at it.”

He hears some rummaging, the click of gemstone against gemstone, and a triumphant, “Behold!” as she finds what she’s looking for. Soon enough, she’s got her hands out in-front of him holding out a large amber gemstone, big enough to fully encompass the pale green bird trapped within; completely frozen in time. It’s fragile white tipped wings are tucked tightly around its body, covering up part of its face. Although it’s small, even an untrained mage like Shirou can feel the massive amount of energy it emits. Has Rin had this with her the entire time, _how had he not noticed it before?_

Rin takes his stupefied silence as an opportunity to continue, “As you know, my family stores mana into gemstones for later use, but there’s something special about this one; for every bit of mana put in, it reacts with twice as much.”

“ _That’s...!_ ”

“Incredible, right? There’s plenty of theories behind it, although it hasn’t been thoroughly researched due to fears of damaging it. But, from this little crack here—“ She shifts the full weight into one palm to use the other to gesture to a sizable jagged cut in the gem, “It’s confirmed that this little bird is actually made _completely_ out of clay. It dates pretty far back, possibly even as far back as the age of gods!” Her eyes are shining even brighter than the gem in her palm, she’s clearly very passionate about it. If he’s being honest, this is definitely interesting, even with more pressing matters at hand.

“It was probably familiar to powerful magus or maybe an early form of some mythical beast? That last part is kinda up to personal preference, I personally like-“

Okay, she’s starting to get carried away; he can’t keep this ship going forever. “ _Tohsaka!_ How exactly does this help us find land?”

“ _Geez_ , you didn’t have to cut me off like that! I was just getting to the good part.” With one take of the look on Shirou’s face, she relents. Clearing her throat, she gets back on track. “We have two main concerns at the moment: one, locating the island; and two, getting there in one piece. This little bird, can power up the both of us to perform spells we’d usually have to dedicate extra time or mana to. So! It’ll help you keep the ship running, while I use it to find the island.”

She moves back, still talking, gathering materials for whatever spell she’ll be casting. “The only downside is...it requires a lot of mana right off the bat, and for both of us it’ll be a hefty amount. I’ll have to put in twice as much since we can’t risk you passing out, so we better pray that no one chooses to attack us now.”

With that, she places a handful of items down between them; the map, a compass, some chalk, the bird, and an assortment of colorful gems. “This should be enough. You— just concentrate on making sure the ship doesn’t sink. Think you can handle that?”

“Sure thing, Captain.” He closes his eyes, focusing fully on feeding his mana through his arms, into the wall, and throughout the rest of the ship; reinforcing where it meets the projection he’s conjured up to make up for the lost half of the boat.

With Shirou occupied, Rin gets to work. She lays the map down and uses the chart to sketch out a crude magic circle, she only needs an outline right now. The gems clenched tightly in her right palm melt with a simple spell, their essence feeding into the groves the chalk created, her chant makes them glow a light bluish-green. The compass on one end spins rapidly around as the mana moves around it; she hopes it’s still usable after this.

The most important piece, the amber gemstone in the middle of her circle, slowly resonates as more mana is passed through it. It responds with it’s own bright green glow, slowly spreading out of the center into the rest of the gem.

Somewhere far away, on a distant island, a man clad in gold shifts in his bath. He lifts himself out of the crystal clear water of the fountain-fed pool to look out into the distance; his aura wavers. “...Is that you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw if u wanna add me on F/GO I'd really appreciate it, my user ID is 537,988,998. Being f2p is hard but I got all the Gils so any and all Enkidu’s are welcomed.


	2. Gemstone Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya...so I said Enkidu would show up. He kinda does? Anyways, next chapter for sure!

Rin hadn’t been completely transparent about everything with Shirou, earlier. Yes, this heirloom could double mana once it received a certain amount in turn; but there was more to it. The bound bird, though fully clay now, might have once been made of ether clumps; better known as liquid clay. It’s a popular choice for making familiars, since they can easily alter their shape in a fight and follow directions with little resistance. Though it’s been noted that with long periods of disuse, these type of familiars turns back into regular clay. 

Running with the theory that it was once a familiar, the Tohsaka’s managed to develop a heavily modified transfer of consciousness spell. The spell could be used to navigate stretches of land by either viewing its past memories or projecting its form to use as a scout; both methods require a circle drawn on a map to limit its scope or else it would require far too much mana- more than even Rin, with a great amount of magic circuits, could supply alone. 

Her ancestors used this spell along with the aid of multiple talented mages, quality mapmaking tools, and gemstones to make a name for themselves amongst mages and ordinary people alike through the intricate maps they produced. Although in recent years they’d lost some of that prestige and subsequently lost the manpower needed to keep up with the ever expanding discoveries at sea. And now, with her father gone, all that responsibility fell on her. She was the only Tohsaka left...well, that’s not completely true. God, she shouldn’t have even let Shirou get involved with all this; Sakura’s probably worried sick. 

Her thoughts of her sister are cut short as the light fully spreads through the amber. It’s finally time. She carefully extends a hand and places it on the gemstone; soon enough she finds herself looking out into an endless sky. She’s incredibly lucky that this bird was so well traveled.

There’s something so surreal about experience flight through the eyes of another, like something out of a dream. As a child Rin had experienced something similar with casting the normal spell on her father’s familiar, but this- _was completely different_.She can almost feel the wind brushing against her face, the salty tang of the sea rising up to greet her as she dives downward. It’s as exhilarating as it is frightening. 

She sees talons (much bigger than the tiny bird’s) appear beneath her and grab hold of a fish, the claws slipping through the scales like butter before she’s up in the air again. There’s a peculiar tugging sensation in her chest that only becomes more pronounced when a clear, crisp whistle cuts through the roar of waves beneath them; they’re needed back. 

Powerful wings cut across the sky, only slowing down when a dot of green breaks through the sea of blue. The sparse clouds beneath her reveal sandy beaches, which soon give way to a dense untamed forest, until finally a hidden cove emerges from behind the trees. It’s the perfect place for a pirate’s headquarters; an island further away than anyone had ever sailed before. She aims for a golden gleam by the docks; their form seamlessly shifting into that of a falcon’s, accelerating their descent even faster than the previous form of an eagle could match. 

The fish hits the ground first with a thud, carefully placed to avoid dirtying their captain’s boots. Although they do enjoy the look of barely hidden disgust on their captain’s face as they begin feasting upon it in front of him. 

“You would think that after all this time I’d grow used to that _filthy habit_ of yours. Wouldn’t you prefer it cooked either way?” 

Their form shifts again to answer him, although they’re still crouched they’re now about eye level with his waist. They stare up into his red eyes and calmly respond to the clear provocation, “I happen to like it this way, it retains the flavor of the sea.”

“Suit yourself. But, you are to wash up thoroughly before I can even _think_ to kiss you.” Despite this statement, he leans down to cup their jaw and smear a finger across their bloody lips. 

“You, as well.” With one strong push they send him tumbling backwards into the sand, watching fondly as he scrambles to get back up. 

_“Why you little—“_

With that Rin snaps back into her body, gasping for breath; it takes her a couple seconds to reorient herself. Shirou is to her right, eyes closed with both palms pressed flat on the wooden walls of the ship, working hard but no longer overexerting himself- that’s good. Now, to see if the spell worked properly. 

Her father’s previously half drawn map is now fully complete, it even includes names for certain landmarks closer to the island itself. The compass has also been properly tuned, no longer pointing north but in the direction of the island; she’d set it to the hidden cove so once they arrived it’d still be of use. The names aren’t the only peculiar thing she notes. It seems that in her spell-induced psychosis she’d modified the magic circle into a summoning circle.

It’s similar to the one she’d used to summon Archer but with some distinct differences, runes in a language unknown to her dot the outermost ring. While casting the spell was only meant to switch her consciousness into the past, it seems whatever was inside that gem had taken advantage of it to transfer their own into the present. Does it want her to use the gem as a catalyst? Should she even attempt such a thing? It is true that she’s currently lacking a servant, with Caster having severed her pact with Archer, but would it really be wise to summon a hero directly tied to the island they’re seeking to plunder? Especially a potential shapeshifter, at that?

This is too much for one person to worry about, “Shirou! Wake up!”

Her shouting completely pulled him from his intensely focused state almost making him forget to keep his arms steady, “ _Huh?_ ” 

“Don’t take your hands off! What are you thinking?!”

“ _You— you’re the one who startled me!_ ”

Shirou’s right, but she won’t admit it. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she addresses him calmly, “Look, that doesn’t matter right now. The map’s finished and I’m sure that, this time, we’ve got the right place.”

That seems to gets his attention as he quickly asks, “What makes you so sure?”

“...I saw through it’s memories.” She’s hesitant to say more, so she quickly continues, “The island used to be a hideout for some pirates, so obviously there must be treasure right?”

Shirou seems relieved at that news that he’ll be able to stop soon, having been at this around an hour now. She’ll have to make sure to reward Shirou for all his help- although she’d get the larger share since she did most of the work. They never would’ve been able to even set sail with such a small crew without her mastery of the five elements; the fire that cooked their meals, the wind in their sails, the torrent of water beneath them, and the parting of sand for safe docking had all been her work. Though it would’ve been lonely with just Archer, so she’s grateful for Shirou and Saber’s company. 

“I can do the spell again to get a current view of the island, maybe see if Saber-“ 

Her words are cut off by the loud bang of cannon fire, the ship sloshes back and forth from a disturbance in the water. _They’re under attack_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw let me know if my characterization is...decent? I’ve never written anything for these characters before. :0
> 
> Also thanks for adding me on F/GO, random strangers!


	3. Interrupted Introduction

It had been a long time since they’d been out of the box. They hadn’t been entirely conscious during that time, but they could that some time had passed. It was like waking up from an extremely long nap, energized and ready to do something. And, Enkidu did do something. 

Of course, the foolish girl ignored their request at first clearly having no knowledge of the powerful foe heading this way; they could not blame her though, she was young, inexperienced to the world and it’s inherent magic. Even Enkidu, with their limited ability to interact and perceive their surroundings, could sense the looming threat of a powerful witch and her countless undead familiars. 

Although in this form they can’t _see_ it, they can feel the aura of the girl’s mana frantically moving around the ship as if looking for something, while the boy’s remained frozen in place. In comparison to when they’re on land, their presence detection is severely limited, but even then they can sense something circling below the ship.

Using what little mana remained from the girl’s donation, Enkidu activates the projection spell she’d prepared earlier to see what monster laid beneath. While not their true form, the projection still allows them to truly view the world for the first time in centuries. It is a nostalgic sight...the sea that played such a big role in their creation and growth as a person. 

Gazing up the ship teeters above them as the water reacts to the disturbance of rapid cannon fire. Those two must be must be loosing their minds on deck, but these blast are nothing more than a distraction- this enemy servant must think little of the girl and her helper to be toying with them like this. Although...the rotten mostly bone corpse of a reanimated whale circling around them might suggest otherwise. To make such a giant creature as her puppet is no easy feat, had she perhaps sensed Enkidu’s presence and chosen to prepare a failsafe? It normally wasn’t difficult for Enkidu to hide their presence, but relying on borrowed mana just to withstand Ishtar’s curse made everything more difficult. 

Speaking of, it seems they’ve run out of time again. They feel their incorporeal form give way as the spell’s hold weakens, their mind blurring between the edge of consciousness and unconsciousness. 

_Gil...It seems I could not return to your side this time either._

Just as they’re about to fall back into their deep slumber, a voice rings out in the void rousing Enkidu back into wakefulness. They have to strain to hear it at first, but with time it grows louder, “...you seven heavens, clad in the three great words of power, come forth from the circle of binding- Guardian of the Scales!”

Even if the words themselves were unseeded, they still trigger a brilliant flash of light to erupt in the darkness of their prison, flooding every bit of the crystal with mana. 

They knew that under normal circumstances this would not be enough to fully break a goddess’ curse; but it was enough to sustain their form for a temporary escape. They reach out towards the light, answering the summons; and with that, Enkidu manifests just in time to defend their new master from harm. The boney golem unfortunate enough to have attempted to attack their master crumbles to dust under the weight of their chains in mere seconds. Surveying the situation, they note that the deck has been overridden by similar golems of varying shapes and sizes. Just another distraction from what lay beneath and the ship rapidly closing the distance between them. Their enemy really was relentless. 

They turn back around to address the girl, their master, who’s staring up at them from their position on the floor. There’d be time for introductions later, for now they had to focus on the enemy. “Master, your orders?”

“Ta- Take them out obviously! I’ll be fine on my own!” Quickly scrambling up before she disappears back into the ship, probably to check on the boy. Enkidu doesn’t really believe her, but they were planning on cleaning up the deck first either way. 

They borrow the form of a harpy to take to the sky; partially out of a desire to fly again, but mostly for the inherent advantage it gives them. Hovering above, they release a barrage of feathers which shift midair into swords, daggers, and arrows making quick work of the golem invaders. With that threat eliminated Enkidu moves on to deal with the whale; diving headfirst into the surf, their wings expanding and dividing into eight large tentacles needed to fully crush their target. Even before their untimely death and imprisonment, they’d hardly used this kraken form; only using it once on Gil’s ship early into their friendship and on some fishermen when they were younger. 

Once the transformation is complete, they catch sight of the whale; it’s eyes are empty, a milky white, completely devoid of life. It only makes them feel slightly better about what must be done, as they surge forward and surround the poor beast on all sides arms constrict around it, squeezing tighter and tighter, until its bone shatter and the whole thing falls apart to be eaten by the creatures of the deep. With that immediate threat neutralized they return to the deck to check on their master. 

The lack of cannon fire and more reanimated monsters gives them a sense of unease, it couldn’t have been that easy? Could it?

“Master?” Their steps are light against the soaked wood of the deck as they make their way to the captain’s quarters, which is really the only room left on the ship so it doesn’t take long to find. Even if they had their own motives in manifesting themselves, they’d hate to startle their master so soon into their partnership. Unfortunately, it seems too late for that. 

_“S-Stay back!”_

They open the door just to be met with a jacket to the face, the fabric clinging to their damp hair. Their master’s command comes out panicked and rushed, but Enkidu knows it’s meant for them. They stand completely still where they are, only moving slightly to pull the jacket off their head and into their arms. 

Their master is crouched behind the boy with a hand on his back and another pointed at the doorway Enkidu’s standing in, the side of her arm glows a light blue along the strange markings crisscrossing it. 

“You— _What...are you?_ You answered my call, but you can’t be my servant. I’m technically out of the Grail War since Archer...” She gazes to the side with a deep frown on her face, “Since...I lost my servant.” 

“Servant...like a familiar, correct? I am intrinsically tied to your mana, so such a title would apply. Although, I didn’t allow myself to be summoned with the intention of participating in a war.” 

The girl sputters dropping her hand to hold herself up as she falls forward in shock, _“What?!”_

Compared to her, the boy acts only mildly confused as he asks, “So you aren’t part of the Holy Grail War?”

“...I’m afraid I haven’t the slightest idea of what that is. Though I traveled far in life, I did not live long. There’s much that I don’t recognize.“ Even if the planet’s will is helping patch up a few of the environmental changes, the full history of the modern world is lost to them.

The boy is quick to reassure them, “Don’t worry about it, I’m actually pretty new to this stuff too.” 

If anything, he seems a bit relieved that they’re in the same boat as him as he tries his best to explain it to them, “Umm, so it’s basically this competition every sixty years to find some grand treasure summoned by the Holy Grail. So...Masters, like me and Tohsaka, summon servants to help us fight other servants and their masters while everyone looks for the grail since it grants wishes. But, no one’s actually used it for that before...? It’s pretty weird and there’s probably more to it, but that’s the gist of it.” He seems proud to have recalled so much, subtly glancing over at the girl next to him. _Young love...how cute._ Gil used to do the same thing all the time; even if he’d deny it. 

“I believe I have a better understanding now, thank you.”

“Ya, no problem. I’m Shirou by the way, and this is Ri- Tohsaka.” Shirou motions toward her the best he can while keeping his arms on the wall. 

Their master, Tohsaka, doesn’t let up the frown on her face she’d had throughout their entire conversation. She ignores Enkidu completely to snap at her partner, “Don’t reveal our names so casually, you moron! What’s wrong with you?!” 

“ _What’s wrong with me?_ What’s wrong with you? She said she’s your servant!”

“ _God, you’re such an idiot—_ You can’t summon a servant once you already lost one! Especially not one that doesn’t even want to fight for the grail!” 

“ _How was I suppose to know that?!_ ”

“How? _How!?_ Because you’re a master!”

“Not by choice!”

“That’s no excuse!”

Enkidu decides now is a good time to interrupt, “Master. If it helps, I could start thinking of a wish.” 

Tohsaka stops mid-rant to give Enkidu a flat look, clearly not amused by their proposition. She lets it a long sigh. “What are we even doing... _we have bigger things to worry about...!_ ” 

Her whining gives way to hardened resolve as her face tenses into a determined frown. She points at Enkidu, “You! What weapon do you use? I didn’t get a good look.” 

“I am a weapon.” 

Her face twists into an even deeper frown.

They can’t help it, that’s a difficult question to answer. Now...what’s the simplest way to explain themselves? “...Chains?”

“Alright, that’s what I’ll be calling you until we get somewhere safe. So! Here’s the plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now to think of a plan. No, I’m not coming up with this as I go along and worrying about how none of this makes sense on paper.


	4. Spectral Ship

Shirou’s infinity grateful for the newest addition to their team, she...or maybe him? Well, either way, _they_ are already proving to be a good addition to their team. 

They took a seat on the floor with them, all patient, reaffirming smiles. The calm expression on their face not shifting once throughout the interrogation of their skills, briefing on the other servants, or the honest truth of the position they’ve been summoned into; their smile only parting in respond to any questions asked of them. Nothing about their attitude changes, even as Tohsaka proposes her craziest plan yet— to set their ship ablaze and run it directly into Caster’s. 

Shirou considers retracting his praises as Chains remains silent. Those two can’t actually be considering doing this after all the work they (mostly him) put towards keeping this ship together, “Tohsaka, you can’t actually be considering that! _That’s insane!_ How would we get to the island? Or even get back home for that matter!”

“You think I didn’t consider that?” She sounds downright insulted that he’d even think for a second she’d overlook such a thing, “We have to focus on not dying first, Shirou! Do you think Caster will just let us go?” 

“Well. No, but—“

“ _My plan_ is to overwhelm her with problems to fix and make her stretch herself thin.” Her voice grows louder as she continues, listing out everything stacked against them,” Her familiars are easy enough to take out, but there’s also Kuzuki and Assassin to worry about. I’ve already signaled our location with a distress flare, so we better hope someone who’s _not_ so keen on our deaths shows up and is willing to team up.” 

He’s still not sure he fully agrees with this plan, especially the part about depending on other servants to show up...it’s on serious gamble. Lancer might help, but none of them know about his master. Illya clearly wants them dead and Berserker wouldn’t betray her trust. Caster summoned Assassin and then— “...and Archer?” 

“What _about_ Archer?” Tohsaka lets out an irritated huff at the mention of her former servant, looking pointedly away from Shirou. “He’s clearly out looking for the island since the rest of his team is stuck on board their ship thanks to Caster’s Territory Creation; Archer’s not just her best option, with him being able to act independently, he’s her only option.” 

Archer must’ve known that too, if not he wouldn’t have proposed to become Caster’s servant. That guy...it’s like he’s a step ahead of everyone else at all times. Shirou won’t forgive a heroic spirit like him for siding with Caster after all the people she’s hurt. More than that he won't forgive him for betraying Rin, and, if he’ll actually admit it, for breaking his faith in Archer as a hero Shirou looked up to. 

Both of them grew silent after the discussion of Rin’s former servant, not much time had passed since his betrayal during their last encounter with Caster. Even though it’d been lucky of them to have summoned a new servant, the opposite could probably be said for Chains who’d been summoned to a team hung up on other servants.

“Master,” the way they say it means to capture both his and Rin’s attention though they don’t stop to confirm that it does, “I understand it is your wish that I currently remain vague about my identity but, I wish to share one thing.”

Though sitting right beside Shirou, they feel so far away with their eyes cast downwards into the folds of their white tunic. “My wish for this... _grail_...would be for my freedom, so that I may finally be reunited in death with my dearest friend.”

He understands immediately what they’re doing; Shirou might be new to this whole Master-Servant thing, but he knows from Saber’s own silence on the matter that it means a lot to know a servant’s wish. 

Their rueful smile doesn’t seem so out of place as they continue, “It’s a wish unfulfillable by anything less of a miracle. So, I aim to serve faithfully till then. I’ll follow any direction given, but I’d prefer to avoid another premature death.” 

Their words help lighten some of the tension between their group; both the inherent strangeness of them joining their small, but established group and some of the nerves over the fight to come. At least it calms Shirou enough to crack a joke himself, “I mean, I’m still here and I’m the competition.”

Even Rin lightens up a bit, playing along with her typical haughty attitude. “That’s just because we’ve had bigger things to worry about. Consider yourself lucky you’ve even had a role in any of my plans. Unlike you, I’m actually planning on winning.” 

He’s happy to see her less upset, smiling despite her words, “Of course. Thanks, Tohsaka.”

“If we are sharing our gratitude, then I also must thank Master.” They’re back to their usual smile as they turn to face her, “However temporary, I appreciate your help in freeing me from that gem.” 

...a gem? He hadn’t seen her set up the summoning circle, but if Chain’s is referring to the amber Tohsaka showed him then—

“Yes, yes,” Rin cuts off his train of thought with her hurried response, “you’re all very welcome! Now, let’s _all_ get back on topic and discuss who’s fighting who.” 

The two of them are standing outside on the front deck, gazing out into the distance at the black ship blocking any chance of escape; Shirou’s hope of making it back home to Fuyuki was now impossible without a fight. The newest addition of their group is perched on Rin’s shoulder as a small green bird. They really weren’t kidding about the whole shapeshifter thing, huh? It’s good to know that they’ll at least have that ability to fall back on once both ships are beyond repair. 

Tohsaka had just finished placing the fire seals around the ship to trigger them all at once Caster’s ship appeared, and now it was finally in sight. She’d warned them that the timing between their acceleration and the ship burning would be tight, but they’d make it. And once they breach the ship, Shirou would distract Kuzuki while she took on Caster; and, from the looks of it, no other servants were coming to help. 

“Earth to Shirou, we’re all set. You ready?” From her shoulder, Chains tilts their feathered head to the side as if asking the same thing. 

He looks away from Chains’ bird form to catch the faint expression of fear on Rin’s face as he fails to respond right away. In all honesty, he could be asking her the same thing, “Ya. I’m ready.” No matter what happens, he’ll protect her. 

With that she begins her chant, outstretching an arm to crush some of the smaller gemstones she had left to connect the sigils across the ship. As they connect, Chains’ bird form hops along the length of her arm to fly off towards their own battle against Assassin at the back of Caster’s ship, ensuring that he won’t interfere with their plans. The ship lurches forward as they fly out of sight, forcing Shirou to grab onto the side as the flames begin to lick up the bottom of the hull, evaporating the water around it to form a steamy fog around them. Canons shoot aimlessly across the parting waves, missing the ship by wider and wider margins as they cut across the sea. 

So this is the type of Magecraft someone with Rin’s level of experience could produce, could he ever hope to reach such a level from where he was at? If he had convinced Kiritsugu to train him sooner, harder, more often, would he have been more of use in all of this? There’s no more time to dwell on what-if’s, because not before long the black mass of Casters ship cuts through the smoke and the fire grows hotter behind him and— it’s just like that time, drowning in a sea of fire and oil that flooded his town in the middle of the night. The incident that took his family while giving him a new one, what inspired him to be a hero, and what he found out to apparently be the aftermath of the supposedly good-intentioned wish his adopted father had seen go horribly wrong. 

Rin’s scream cuts through the crunch of wood splintering against wood as the ships collide; it cuts through the sound of people being crushed between fallen buildings in the torrent of his memories— He sees a hand. It stands out against the orange flames, and just like the last time, he grabs onto it without hesitation. Although...this time it’s Rin who’s reached out to Shirou, pulling him over the fracturing bow of Caster’s ship onto the deck with her reinforcement magic aiding their jump. Together they make it on deck without much trouble. 

There’s a lot to take in at once, and as much as he doesn’t want to admit it, he’s still shaken up by the vivid reminder of that night. He looks up to see golden ripples of energy streak across the sky as chains rain down from them; Chains must already be fighting Assassin. 

“Shirou! Look out!” His gaze is brought back down as Rin barrels into him as Caster’s blast rips through the already breaking ship and straight into the ocean behind them. 

What he can see of Caster’s face is twisted with rage, mana crackling at her fingertips as she stares at the two of them from atop the quarter deck along with Kuzuki at the wheel. “You—“ the words come out as more of a snarl than anything else; and while he can’t see Caster’s eyes, Shirou knows she’s surveying the damage around them from the foreign curses spilling from her lips. Tohsaka was right to take this approach, she’s so distracted that she hasn’t even summoned any of her skeletons. 

He watches as Kuzuki steps away from the wheel without a word and places a hand on his servant’s shoulder, by moving away he reveals a face Shirou dreaded seeing. 

“Saber!” Her outfit has been stripped away to her under shirt and skirt with her arms restrained onto the mast further behind the wheel. He can barely see her with the quarter deck being a set of stairs above them, but he knows she’s in pain from the way she’s bent over with her head pressed against her arms. 

“ _Fuck, fuck, this wasn’t part of the plan—!_ ” Beside him, Rin is shaking as she seems to be running through the plan in her mind rapidly making changes. “Fuck it! Shirou! Same plan!” 

Before he knows it, she’s rushing forward with a gemstone blazing in one hand, giving him no choice but to follow, “O-okay!” He trusts Rin and rushes after her ready to keep Kuzuki occupied while she works her magic. Together, they can do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I did a lot more research on ships than I really needed too. Also yes, Assassin’s temple gate was plopped onto the poop deck. I have no regrets. 
> 
> Also um, I know this AU is really all over the place so Imma dump some world stuff below if ya wanna’ read my ramblings: 
> 
> So! This is basically Stay/night UBW verse but too much water. Like the planet itself has more ocean which means more travel time/distance between nations which I guess justifies it being a “modern” universe like ours, but behind on sea-fairing tech because they needed to get good at getting lot of resources/food first for big trips?? 
> 
> Grail War basically opens up a new stretch of ocean that mages taking part in the War can access from the port town of Fuyuki and test their skills for the right to the grail. There’s also islands scattered about that usually have some historical relevance to the servants summoned in that war in terms of what appears there (flora and fauna, climate, resources, etc...). Because the world itself has more ocean, most heroic spirits are well versed in sailing so they’re a valuable crew member to have along with killing people. Which I guess kinda makes the madness enhancement of Berserkers even worse...oh well. The grail is accompanied by various treasures as an extra reward (with the crew in mind?), but there’s rumors of mystic items within its hoard too.
> 
> In the last war (Fate/Zero), Gil being hella lucky got his pirate hangout as the island where the grail and treasure is which is handy ‘cause it’s the same for Fate/Stay Night war since it ended “wrong” following canon and new war is trying to make up for it by starting early. So, Gil found it early on and has just been lazing around the fountain since it helps make the mana he gets from those orphan children last longer?? (Wow that sounds like a great place to do a mana trans-) 
> 
> All Fate/Zero stuff happened in this universe, but more sailing, so I guess that makes Kiri a magic pirate assassin. Dope. Oh ya also the grail’s corruption slipping through the “barrier” into part of Fuyuki causing the incident Shirou remembers as an unexplained massive oil spill that caught on fire killing thousands. Kinda also gives him another reason to be a hero aside from Kiri saving him; Shirou’s convinced only a horrible person could’ve caused the “oil spill”. Ya must’ve hurt dad to hear that one. 
> 
> So prepping for the grail war Tohsaka got her dad’s ship from Kirei, summoned Archer while on land, and then saved Shirou when he interrupted the first Lancer vs Archer fight. Once Shirou summoned Saber she offered him to join her crew to not die again. There’s different strategies on whether to start sailing immediately or see if you can pick off any weaker servants trying to leave; this results in some fights with Illya who wants to pick them off early (but changes her mind) and later with Shinji who stays behind to power up Rider first through sacrifice (which fails duh, so he didn’t even make it to the sea lol). All other fights are at sea or on the islands. 
> 
> The Caster fights changed a lot because of this; Shirou’s kidnap was on the first island which was similar to Aeaea (Circe’s island), the next Caster battle was at sea and included Archer’s betrayal and the magical storm that badly damaged their boat which Caster used to get Saber, and the third is this last fight. The flare did catch Lancer’s attention, but i didn’t want to write him and archer so...ya happening off screen. Even if Lancer didn’t talk w/ Rin and Shirou, I still feel like Kirei would want Caster gone after her assault on his ship so it works out for both parties. 
> 
> Okay that’s it, see ya next time!


End file.
